Bethel Park needs board that knows how to negotiate

This letter in response to the Bethel Park High School superintendent’s contract issues:

It appears that the Bethel Park School District Superintendent Nancy Aloi Rose broke her silence on the lack of a contract between the district and the Bethel Park Federation of Teachers, after she was given permission.

Alas, her predecessor did the same thing, supporting the school board for the new high school. Neither he nor the school board ever spoke about the 75 percent of the households, who do not have school-age children or that 34 percent of the population that is retired. They wanted a new high school and they built it; buildings don’t educate students, teachers educate students.

As for the economics of the school district and the under-funded pension debt, they sing the same old tune. “It’s not our fault, blame the state for the pension debt.” They complain about health care cost and tell the school teachers, “they are just greedy.” Then they go and raise the school tax millage and have a court ordered property reassessment! They go forward and conduct the reassessment by driving through Bethel Park and using a “creative computer program” on properties and recently sold housing.

The answer to all these problems is very simple. Bethel Park needs a school board that has some expertise on how to negotiate a labor agreement with some understanding of economics and do this negotiating with a kind heart.